1995 Summer Reading for Kids
These are books recommended for summer reading by the school librarians of the Vermont
Educational Media Association, an affiliate of the Vermont-National Education Association.
1995 Caldecott Award Winner
Bunting, Eve. SMOKY NIGHT. Harcourt. When the Los Angeles riots break out in the streets of
their neighborhood, a young boy and his mother learn the values of getting along with others,
no matter what their background or nationality.
1995 Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award Winner
Cooper, Susan. THE BOGGART. McElderry. After visiting the castle in Scotland which her family
has inherited, 12-year-old Emily finds that she has accidentally brought back to Canada an
invisible, mischievous spirit -- a boggart. Delights as well as horrors invade Emily's family as
Emily and her brother frantically look for a way to send the boggart back across the ocean to
Scotland.
1995 Newbery Award Winner
Creech, Sharon. WALK TWO MOONS. HarperCollins. After her mother leaves home suddenly,
13-year-old Sal and her grandparents take a car trip retracing her mother's route. Along the
way, Sal recounts the story of her friend Phoebe, whose mother also left.
PRIMARY GRADES
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Alexander, Lloyd. THE FORTUNE TELLERS. Dutton. A carpenter goes to a fortune teller
and finds the predictions about his future coming true in an unusual way. The setting of
Cameroon is beautifully evoked in illustrations by Trina Schart Hyman.
Cannon, Janell. STELLALUNA. Harcourt. After she falls headfirst into a bird's nest, a baby
bat is raised like a bird until she is reunited with her mother.
Celsi, Teresa Noel. THE FOURTH LITTLE PIG. Raintree. In this hilarious story, the
flamboyant sister of the original three little pigs shows up to teach her brothers a thing
or two about life.
Boulton, Jane. ONLY OPAL: THE DIARY OF A YOUNG GIRL. Philomel. A young orphan
faced with the harsh reality of days filled with grueling work for a pioneer family finds
comfort and tranquility in the natural world around her.
Hoban, Lillian. ARTHUR'S CAMP OUT. HarperCollins. Lovable Arthur scoffs at his sister
Violet's camping trip with her girlfriends. Camping out on his own, brave Arthur runs
into trouble and is rescued by his reliable sister.
Isaacs, Anne. SWAMP ANGEL. Dutton. This new tall tale introduces Angelica Longrider,
also known as the Swamp Angel, who wrestles with her powerful foe, a huge bear
known as Thundering Tarnation who is the scourge of Tennessee. Swamp Angel saves
her pioneer friends from starvation.
Jenness, Aylette. FAMILIES: A CELEBRATION OF DIVERSITY, COMMITMENT AND LOVE.
Houghton. Seventeen children talk about their families in this book, which grew out of a
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photographic exhibit at the Children's Museum in Boston. While the makeup of each
family unit varies, all share the bonds of experience, hope, and of course, love.
King-Smith, Dick. THE CUCKOO CHILD. Hyperion. With the unknowing help of his pet
geese, 8-year-old Jack Daw decides to raise an ostrich on his father's farm. There is
much to be learned from this six-foot bird, who is seen through the eyes of both the
adoptive human and goose families.
Kinsey-Warnock, Natalie. THE WILD HORSES OF SWEETBRIAR. Cobblehill/Dutton. A
young girl recalls her experiences with a herd of wild horses, from her first encounter
during the summer through the horses' desperate struggle for survival during a harsh
winter.
Moutoussamy-Ashe, Jeanne. DADDY AND ME. Knopf. Arthur Ashe's daughter Camera
tells how she and her dad take care of one another. Publication of this book is a project
on which the entire family collaborated prior to Arthur Ashe's death from AIDS.
Seymour, Tres. HUNTING THE WHITE COW. Orchard. It takes far longer than the "few
minutes" daddy promised he'd need to catch the white cow. All the menfolk get
involved in the hunt and the cow's reputation grows with each failed attempt. The child
who succeeds in getting a rope on her can't get her home!
Steptoe, John. MUFARO'S BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTERS. Lothrop. Mufaro's two beautiful
daughters, one bad-tempered, one kind and sweet, go before the king, who is choosing
a wife. Set in Zimbabwe's past splendor and similar to other folktales, this provides an
opportunity to conjecture with children about how tales are transferred from one
generation and culture to another.
Treece, Henry. THE MAGIC WOOD. HarperCollins. A mysterious man befriends an
unwitting visitor in a nighttime wood filled with hidden danger. Illustrated by Barry
Moser's haunting art, the often-repeated verse easily becomes a responsive reading.
Waddell, Martin. THE PIG IN THE POND. Candlewick. When a pig becomes overheated
and jumps into the farm pond, barnyard pandemonium breaks out.
Wiesner, David. TUESDAY. Clarion. An almost wordless picture book in which frogs rise
on their lily pads, float through the air, and explore nearby houses.
Yolen, Jane. DOVE ISABEAU. Harcourt. Dove's innocence cannot protect her from the
dark magic of her stepmother. Turned into a hideous dragon, Dove awaits rescue
through the powers of love; her own mother's and that of Kemp Owain.
MIDDLE GRADES
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Alexander, Lloyd. WESTMARK. Dutton. The first of three books of high fantasy set in the
kingdom of the same name. A boy fleeing from criminal charges falls in with a charlatan,
his dwarf attendant, and an urchin girl, and travels with them about the kingdom of
Westmark. They ultimately arrive at the palace, where the king is grieving over the loss
of his daughter. Sequels are THE BEGGAR QUEEN and THE KESTREL.
Collier, James L. and Christopher. WITH EVERY DROP OF BLOOD. Delacorte. Johnny
promises his dying father that he will not desert the family to fight for the rebel cause.
But the lure of adventure and financial gain are strong. Careful attention is paid to the
reasons the Civil War was fought as well as the enormity of the suffering of soldiers and
civilians.
Dubois, Muriel L. ABENAKI CAPTIVE. Carolrhoda. In 1752 nineteen-year-old Abenaki
warrior Ogistin is present when a band of his people capture a Vermont settler, John
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Stark. As Stark is carried into captivity in Canada, a bond of hate and competition
develops between him and Ogistin.
Filipovic, Zlata. ZLATA'S DIARY: A CHILD'S LIFE IN SARAJEVO. Viking. Zlata's personal
narrative concerning her life before and during the war in Bosnia provides insight and
questions about life, death, and the loss of childhood.
Fleischman, Paul. THE HALF-A-MOON INN. Harper. Lost on wintry roads, Aaron, who
was born mute, comes upon the bewitched Half-a-Moon Inn, where the wicked
proprietor forces him to assist her in picking pockets and prying into people's dreams.
Freedman, Russell. ELEANOR ROOSEVELT: A LIFE OF DISCOVERY. Clarion. A biography of
one of this century's most remarkable women. Her courage, warmth, dignity, and
accomplishments are a source of inspiration to the reader.
Haas, Jessie. UNCLE DANEY'S WAY. Greenwillow. Twelve-year-old Cole learns about
how to work with a logging horse named Nip from his uncle Daney. Just as important, he
learns that to "lean into the collar and keep on pullin' till you get what you're after" isn't
the only way to live.
Hahn, Mary Downing. TIME FOR ANDREW: A GHOST STORY. Clarion. In an attempt to
save his ancestor's life, 11-year-old Drew agrees to switch places with a ghost child,
Andrew, who supposedly died of diphtheria in 1910. When Andrew resists switching
back, nightly marble games determine if Drew will ever be able to return to his own
world.
Lewin, Ted. I WAS A TEENAGE PROFESSIONAL WRESTLER. Orchard. A biographical
account of how a very prolific children's illustrator earned his way through college.
Many interesting and humorous insights into the world of professional wrestling.
Paterson, Katherine. THE FLIP-FLOP GIRL. Dutton. Vinnie is forced by the death of her
father to move with her mother and brother to her grandmother's. Lonely at her new
school, Vinnie is befriended by the class outcast, a girl who wears flip-flops and who also
has an unusual family story.
Peck, Robert Newton. A PART OF THE SKY. Knopf. A sequel to A DAY NO PIGS WOULD
DIE. Robert's coming-of-age story continues as the Peck family struggles to keep the
family farm during the Depression.
Rawls, Wilson. WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS. Doubleday. A young boy living in the
Ozarks works hard to earn enough money to purchase two redbone hound dogs. He
pours all his love and passion into training them to be champions.
Smith, Robert Kimmel. THE WAR THE GRANDPA. Delacorte. Upset that he has to give up
the room he loves to his grandfather, Pete decides to declare war in an attempt to get it
back.
Watkins, Yoko Kawashima. MY BROTHER, MY SISTER, AND I. Bradbury. A sequel to the
much-loved book, SO FAR FROM THE BAMBOO GROVE. Living as refugees in Japan in
1947 while trying to locate their missing father, 13-year-old Yoko and her oldest brother
and sister must endure a bad fire, injury, and false charges of arson, theft, and murder.
Zettner, Pat. THE SHADOW WARRIOR. Atheneum. Llyndreth fulfills prophecies by
learning to love what she was taught to fear and hate, in a world where goblins, giants
and humans battle for domination. Through her actions she brings a chance of peace to
her world.
HIGH SCHOOL
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Blais, Madeleine. IN THESE GIRLS, HOPE IS A MUSCLE. Atlantic Monthly. The winning
1993 basketball season of the Lady Hurricanes of Amherst, MA is described in a story
that focuses on the involvement of family and community, the role of the male coach,
and the athletes' dedication to excellence.
Brooke, Polly Schoyer. QUEEN ELEANOR, INDEPENDENT SPIRIT OF THE MEDIEVAL
WORLD: A BIOGRAPHY OF ELEANOR OF AQUITAINE. Lippincott. After divorcing the King
of France at age twenty-nine, Eleanor marries nineteen-year-old Henry and again
becomes a queen, this time of England. She prefers to rule her own court in Aquitaine,
where she plots rebellion against Henry with her sons Richard and John. Medieval royal
dysfunctional family life at its most interesting.
Cooney, Caroline. DRIVER'S ED. Delacorte. Three teenagers' lives are changed forever
when they thoughtlessly steal a stop sign from a dangerous intersection and a young
mother is killed in an automobile accident there.
Cushman, Karen. CATHERINE, CALLED BIRDY. Clarion. The 13-year-old daughter of an
English country knight keeps a journal in which she records the events of her life,
particularly her longing for adventure beyond the usual role of women and her efforts
to avoid being married off. Highly entertaining!
Klass, David. CALIFORNIA BLUE. Scholastic. When 17-year-old John Rodgers discovers a
new sub-species of butterfly which may necessitate closing the mill where his dying
father works, he and his father find themselves on opposite sides of the environmental
conflict.
McCaffrey, Anne. DRAGONSONG. Atheneum. Published nearly twenty years ago, this is
the first of a dozen novels about Pern, where dragons are bred to ward off the spore life
that falls from the orbiting Red Star. Despite the dangers, Menolly leaves the safety of
home to pursue her musical ambitions and is befriended by a group of fire lizards.
Myers, Walter Dean. THE GLORY FIELD. Scholastic. Myers follows a family's long history,
from the capture of an African boy in the 1750s through the lives of his descendants, as
their dreams and circumstances lead them away from and back to the small plot of land
in South Carolina they call the Glory Field.
Reuter, Bjarne. THE BOYS FROM ST. PETRI. Dutton. In 1942 a group of young men begin
a series of increasingly dangerous protests against the German invaders of their Danish
homeland. 1995 Batchelder award winner.
Sleator, William. OTHERS SEE US. Dutton. When an accidental dunking in toxic waste
gives sixteen-year-old Jared the ability to read minds, he discovers horrifying secrets
about family members at the summer reunion.
Staples, Suzanne Fisher. HAVELI. Knopf. A sequel to SHABANU: DAUGHTER OF THE
WIND. Resigned to the old ways of her people in Pakistan and married to the rich older
man to whom she was pledged against her will, Shabanu is now the victim of his family's
blood feud and the malice of his other wives.
This reading list for the summer of 1995 was compiled by Carol Clauss, Barbara Kieran, Pat
Kervick, and Pam Pezzulo, librarians in the Addison Central Supervisory Union, with additions
by Leda Schubert, School Library Media Consultant, Vermont Department of Education. The
Vermont Educational Media Association and Vermont-NEA publish a Reading List each
summer, as a service to the public.